Stabbing suspects in Chicopee, Springfield remain at large

CBS 3Springfield police are investigating a knife assault Tuesday in the Hollywood section of the South End that sent an 18-year-old male to the hospital with a stab wound to the chest. No arrests had been made as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

SPRINGFIELD — Police in Springfield and Chicopee continue to hunt for suspects in unrelated stabbings in the neighboring cities.

Chicopee police are looking for five suspects involved in an early Wednesday knife assault along the banks of the Chicopee River near Front Street. "He is in good condition," Chicopee Police Capt. Jeffrey Gawron said of the male victim, whom police declined to publicly identify.

The incident was reported at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. Gawron said the victim was still being treated this morning at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield for a stab wound to the chest. Physical descriptions of the suspects were unavailable. "If we knew who they were, they'd be under arrest," he said.

On Tuesday night in Springfield, a teenager was rushed to Baystate after being stabbed in the chest in the Hollywood section of the South End. Springfield Police Capt. William Collins said the victim, whom police declined to publicly identify, was semi-conscious and unable to speak with investigators before being taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. Collins said detectives would attempt to interview the teen after his surgery.

An update on the victim's health status was not immediately available, though Springfield Police Lt. David Martin said the teen's condition had not worsened. "No change," Martin said just after 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The stabbing happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday on Niagara Street, one of the main streets leading to the series of brick apartment blocks comprising the neighborhood's Hollywood section. Police said they found the teen bleeding in the middle of the road with a large crowd around him. Witnesses to the crime have not cooperated with investigators, according to Collins.

Anyone with information about the stabbings is asked to call Springfield police at (413) 787-6355 or Cicopee police at (413) 592-6341.